MOVIE REVIEW
Two out of Five
KAYLEE BREWSTER Kaylee Brewster
If you need a fool-proof escape plan, you call the Transporter.
If you need a fool-proof movie, you don’t call “The Transporter Refueled.”
Frank (Ed Skrein) is the man who can transport anyone and anything with his fancy car that would make James Bond jealous. However, the job from his most recent client is bit more than he bargained for and forces him to put everything he has at risk.
It’s hard to describe just exactly what kind of movie “The Transporter” is — it’s little bit of a heist movie, some action, a little spy, revenge and a lot of “Fast and Furious”-style getaways. But not everything blends together well.
For the plot to work, everyone and everything has to be in the exact right spot and people have to have the exact right reactions and behaviors. While it does work in the context of the film, the same can’t be said for reality. All it takes is one slip, one character to call someone’s bluff or refuse, and it all comes crashing down.
It makes for an incredibly confusing story. You wonder why Frank feels compelled to do the job, and why he can’t just find another way out since he’s clearly capable. But mostly importantly it’s hard to determine why you, the audience, should care.
And about halfway through the film, you stop caring about what’s happening, why it’s happening and who it’s happening to, and you start caring more about when it’s going to end.
The story doesn’t give you much reason to sit up and pay attention and neither do the characters. The villains try to come off as sinister, with menacing foreign accents that disappear long before the end credits. The acting is so stiff the characters seem like cardboard.
Frank is supposed to be suave, cool under pressure and laid back, but he’s too much so. There’s no emotion, and no change in tone or look.
“The Transporter Refueled” uses its scenic South-of-France location with wide shots of the coastline and luxurious hotels as a backdrop for the Transporter to careen his car through, sometimes literally. At least that’s the case when he actually drives his car in action scenes. There is an odd balance of either not enough action or fights that last way too long to be exciting.
“The Transporter Refueled” feels more like a 96-minute-long car commercial than an action film. The plot makes no sense and the characters are uninspired. It’s a long, boring ride and all you want to do is get out of the car.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=weqzAM5LCIY
